Stoker



g. 5 19 1 w. T. HANQA 2,251,450

STOKER Filed Jan. 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR William 7. Hanna ATTORNE w. T. HANNA I 2,251,450

STOKER Filed Jan. 2'7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIA'IIIII INVENTO R William T Hanna Y @2419 N YS ATTGR Patented Aug. 5, 1941 res 'i QEFECE 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to. an improve ment in stokers. In locomotive stokers,.coal feeds from a coal bin forming part of the tender of a locomotive into a hopper located beneath the bin. Then it is moved forwardly through a suitable transfer conduit to the firing opening pro vided in the back wall of the locomotive firebox. The transfer conduit terminates at and surrounds the firing opening and is itself provided with a hand-firing opening in line with the firing opening in the back head; The stoking mechanism also includes fuel distributing mechanism for distributing the. fuel over the firebed, and

this mechanism is generally located. in. the firing opening or slightly forward thereof. As taught inv my United, States Patent No. 2,04%,001, fuel.

conditioning and regulating means are provided in the transfer conduit in the vicinity of the firing opening to act on, thin, and: regulate the flow of fuel tothe distributing means. This conditioning and regulating means comprises rotating mechanism generally in the form of a te pered worm which operates at the forwardend of the transfer conduit and: generally protrudes into the line of the hand-firing and firing openings.

Such a tapered worm or screw may thus interfere with men getting into and out of the firebox through the two firing openings, and it is an object of the present invention to overcome this difficulty.

It is a further object of the invention to. provide improved means for detachably mounting a fuel-manipulating screw ona shaft to turn therewith.

One form of mechanism embodying the invention is described in the following specification and shown in the drawings attached thereto and in which:

Figure 1 is a central'longitudinal vertical sec tion of a locomotive stoker having fuel condi tioning and regulating worms in the foremost end of the transfer conduit;

Figure 2 is a combined sectional: and elevation view looking forwardly from the section line 2:-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an axial vertical section of the mechanism for mounting one of the fuel c0nditioning means;

Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a transverse section onv the line 5-5 of Figure-3.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, stokermecha nism is shown for conveying fuel forwardly from openings.

a source of fuel such as fuel supply in a tender through a transfer conduit H121 to afiring opening. IEH provided in, a back head H32 of alocomotive firebox. The transfer conduit is expanded at its forward end' to form a chamber that ens compasses the firing opening and houses. fuel conditioning means in the form of tapered: screws which act on the coal just before it reaches, and passes through the firing opening to fuel distributing means generally indicated at I04- mounted inv the firing opening. The fuel distributing means distributes the fuel over the firebox by means of steam jets issuing in different strengths. Simultaneously, it effectively screens the fuel coming to it so that the larger fuel particles are distributed by the more powerful jets andthe finer fuel by the less powerful jets. The fuel is thinned. or separated and broken up, by the fuel conditioning means just before its delivery to the fuel distributinggmeans.

The chamber formed by the end of the transfer conduit that encompasses the firing opening is provided at its rear with a hand-firing opening which is substantially aligned withthe' firing opening in the back wall of the firebox and the delivery opening of the transfer conduit so that the operation of the firing may be observed, and the firebox may be hand-stoked whenever desired, without interfering with the operation. of the stoker.

After a run, the locomotive is'inspected, which inspection includes examining the firebox which, if it has developed leaks, is repaired by workmen entering the firebox through these hand-firing Often, the repairmen have to enter the firebox when it. is hot, particularly if the locomotive has to go out on another run without allowing the box to become completely cold.

The entrance through the several openings of the stoking mechanism and the firing opening in the back head must be large enough to, allow the workmen to enter with comparative ease, and should not be obstructed by mechanism protruding into the line of the firing openings. The stoker mechanism shown has proven particularly satisfactory for its efficiency in handling and distributing fuel, but, whereas the fuel-conditioning worms do not extend sufficiently far into the line of the firing openingsv to interfere with hand-firing, they may in some instances interfere with the entrance of the workmen into the firebox. To overcome this disadvantage and to accomplish another new and useful result in the present invention, the worms are so mounted i within the chamber as to be readily detachable;

As shown in Figure 2, the conditioning worms are separately driven through gearing not shown but provided in housing I66. This gearing drives a shaft I, shown in Figure 3, which is journaled in bearings 2 and has its forward end extending into the conditioning chamber of the transfer conduit. The bearings are mounted in a plate or wall portion 3 which has a forwardly projecting annular flange 6 in which the bearing is mounted.

As shown in Figure 3, the shaft I is provided with a longitudinally extending key-way I and a transversely extending bolt receiving hole 8. A hollow annular adapter 9 has a hub engaging flange portion It and a shaft engaging shank or collar portion II, the latter of which is provided with a key-way I2 and opposed bolt holes I3. The flange ID has an annular groove I4 to accommodate the packing material I5. Flange I is also provided with lugs I6 extending radially from its periphery.

The adapter as above described is mounted on and secured to the end of shaft I by means of a key or spline I1; and when in operative position, the flange portion II! of said adapter overlaps the annular flange or hub 6 of the rear wall portion 3. The packing material I cooperates with the outer cylindrical surface of said hub to protect the bearings from injury by coal, dust or other abrasive materials. A sleeve I8 extends through the transverse hole 8 in shaft I and the opposed holes I3 in the collar II of the adapter to lock the adapter in place.

The parts assembled as above indicated are now ready to support and drive a conveyor or conditioning screw having a conical or tapering helical vane I9 and a hub 29. The base of hub 20 is hollow and forms a shank ZI and an annular apron or flange 22 having opposed notches 22' arranged and adapted to engage the driving lugs I6 of adapter 9 when the parts are assembled as shown in Figure 3. The shank ZI of hub 20 is also provided with opposed bolt holes 23 which, when notches 22' engage the lugs I6 of the adapter, are co-axially aligned with the sleeve I8. A bolt 24 passes through the holes 23 and through the sleeve I8 and is retained in position by suitable means, such as a nut 25a. The shank 2| of the hub 20 is also provided with an annular flange 25 extending inwardly and adapted to flt nicely with the end of the shaft I. Thus, the screw 20 is mounted with respect to the shaft by means of the flange 22 coacting with the flange ill of the adapter, and the flange 25 coacting with the end of the shaft I. In this manner, although little bearing surface is provided so that the amount of friction holding the worm in place is small, nevertheless a strong mounting is obtained. Further, the collar II of the adapter 9 is tapered as shown and the female receiving portion of the hub 20 is also tapered so that as the hub is being mounted on the adapter there is little possibility of binding until the hub is practically in place on the adapter.

It will readily appear from the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, that the present invention provides a sturdy and durable driving connection between the conveyor hub and the driving shaft. Moreover, with the described arrangement, the hub 20 with its vane I9 is easily detached from operative or driven position on the shaft I simply by removing the bolt 24 and lifting the conveyor away from its position of engagement with the adapter 9. With the conveyor removed, access to the firing opening of the firebox is greatly facilitated, particularly where it is necessary for workmen to pass therethrough to make repairs inside the firebox. Furthermore, the improved construction will also be found advantageous in case injury or damage to the conveyor necessitates its removal and replacement by a new part. Other advantages and beneficial results in operation will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

As various embodiments might be made in the construction herein described, all without departing from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In screw conveyor mounting and driving mechanism for stokers, the combination of a drive shaft, an adapter having a collar secured to said shaft and an annular flange, a screw conveyor mounted on said adapter and having a hub provided with an annular flange and a hollow shank, said flange and said shank of the hub embracing said flange and said collar respectively of the adapter, means extending through said collar and said shaft for releasably retaining said adapter on said shaft, and means extending through said shank and said collar to releasably retain the screw conveyor in mounted position on the adapter.

2. In screw conveyor mounting and driving mechanism for stokers, the combination of a drive shaft having a transversely extending hole, an adapter mounted on said shaft and including a collar secured thereto and provided with opposed holes co-axially aligned with said transverse hole in the shaft, a screw conveyor mounted on said adapter and having a hub including a hollow shank provided with opposed holes coaxially aligned with said opposed holes in the adapter, a sleeve extending through the transverse hole in the shaft and the opposed holes in the adapter, and a bolt extending through said sleeve and said opposed holes in the hollow shank, said adapter having a driving connection with said hub other than through said bolt.

3. In screw conveyor mounting and driving mechanism for stokers, the combination of a driving shaft, an adapter mounted on and keyed to said shaft and having an elongated collar portion contacting and supported by said shaft, and a flange portion extending radially from one end of said collar portion, a screw conveyor adapted to be mounted on said adapter and having a hub including a hollow shank to receive the collar portion of said adapter, and a radially extending flange to receive the flange of said adapter, means providing a driving connection between said radially extending flanges, and removable means extending through said collar portion and said shank portion for holding said hub against displacement from its operative position in relation to said adapter, said removable means being free of performing any driving function.

4. In a screw conveyor mounting and driving mechanism for stokers, the combination of a drive shaft and adapter keyed to said shaft and having an annular flange, a screw conveyor mounted on said adapter having a hub provided with an annular flange adapted to be supported by the annular flange of said adapter, and a collar axially spaced from said flanges and adapted to be supported by said shaft, and means on said adapter, and an annular flange adapted to engage with the annular flange of said adapter, and readily retractable means for maintaining the screw conveyor in mounted position on the adapter.

6. In a screw conveyor mounting and driving mechanism for stokers, in combination: a drive shaft; an adapter mounted on said shaft and having an annular flange and a neck portion with a frusto-conical outer surface; a screw conveyor having a hub provided with an outwardly flaring hollow portion adapted to coact with said frusto-conical surface, an annular flange adapted to engage the annular flange of said adapter and be supported thereby, and a collar adapted to be directly supported by said shaft; and readily retractible means for maintaining the screw conveyor in mounted position on said adapter.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA. 

